"Do you think vacant houses in a neighborhood can cause problems? What can we/should we do about it?"

"I think there's no way to avoid (vacant houses) because people are always selling their houses and stuff like that. You'd think that most people who try to sell their houses would take care of them so they can sell them quicker and easier."

-- Aubrey Sanchez, 22

"Yes, they are used for vandalism and unfortunately for prohibited drug activity. ... I just moved back and things weren't as bad as they are now. Habitat services should either tear them down, renovate them or add on to them and make them livable to the community. There are so many programs that they could do in that area."

-- Paula Davis, 47

"Yes, I suppose so. ... You can turn a neighborhood around. A perfect example is the northeast neighborhood. ... You could have a cooperative effort between the private and the public sectors to turn things around."

-- Greg Downes, 58

Advertisement

"Yeah, they lower property values, increase chances of having crime. Animals and critters move in, that's no good. And it just looks bad. Make the owners take care of it."

-- Melody Jenn, 41

"Yeah, down on Portage there are a lot of vacant houses. ... (They're a problem) because a lot of homeless people live in there. They light little fires cause there's no heat. And it cheapens the neighborhood. If they're not owned, the city should tear down the blatant areas."